Related papers: Privacy is Fungibility: Why Endogenous Tokens Are …
Cryptocurrencies offer an alternative to traditional methods of electronic value exchange, promising anonymous, cash-like electronic transfers, but in practice they fall short for several key reasons. We consider the false choice between…
Permisionless decentralized ledgers ("blockchains") such as the one underlying the cryptocurrency Bitcoin allow anonymous participants to maintain the ledger, while avoiding control or "censorship" by any single entity. In contrast,…
Crypto-assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are reshaping how value is exchanged in distributed computing environments. These systems combine cryptographic primitives, protocol design, and system architectures to provide…
Bitcoin brings a new type of digital currency that does not rely on a central system to maintain transactions. By benefiting from the concept of decentralized ledger, users who do not know or trust each other can still conduct transactions…
Unlike suggested during their early years of existence, Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies in fact offer significantly less privacy as compared to traditional banking. A myriad of privacy-enhancing extensions to those cryptocurrencies as…
In recent years, electronic retail payment mechanisms, especially e-commerce and card payments at the point of sale, have increasingly replaced cash in many developed countries. As a result, societies are losing a critical public retail…
Cryptocurrency refers to a type of digital asset that uses distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology to enable a secure transaction. Although the technology is widely misunderstood, many central banks are considering launching their own…
By comparing cryptocurrencies with other existing payment methods, including banknotes and bank cards, it is clear that the use of Bitcoin and its competitors (Ethereum, \dots) is almost insignificant in world trade. We may also note that…
A cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital currency that is designed for secure and private asset transfer and storage. As a currency, it should be difficult to counterfeit and double-spend. In this paper, we review and analyze the major…
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are the digital assets on a blockchain. NFTs are unique and they cannot be divided like cryptocurrencies. NFTs could store digital ownership of an artwork or collections or can be fan tokens or tickets for clubs.…
Non-custodial wallets are a type of cryptocurrency wallet wherein the owner has full control over the private keys and is solely responsible for managing and securing the digital assets that it contains. Unlike custodial wallets, which are…
Distributed ledger and blockchain systems are expected to make financial systems easier to audit, reduce counter-party risk and transfer assets seamlessly. The key concept is a token controlled by a cryptographic private key for spending,…
Bitcoin and many other similar Cryptocurrencies have been in existence for over a decade, prominently focusing on decentralized, pseudo-anonymous ledger-based transactions. Many protocol improvements and changes have resulted in new…
Cryptocurrencies redefined how money can be stored and transferred among users. However, independent of the amount being sent, public blockchain-based cryptocurrencies suffer from high transaction waiting times and fees. These drawbacks…
Cryptocurrencies aim to replicate physical cash in the digital realm while removing centralized and trusted intermediaries. Decentralization is achieved by the blockchain, a permanent public ledger that contains a record of every…
Retail central bank digital currency (rCBDC) is seen as a key upgrade of the monetary system in the 21st century. However, privacy concerns are the main impediment to rCBDC's development and roll-out. On the one hand, the rights of people…
We discuss several uses of blockchain (and, more generally, distributed ledger) technologies outside of cryptocurrencies with a pragmatic view. We mostly focus on three areas: the role of coin economies for what we refer to as data malls…
Bitcoin is the first implementation of what has become known as a 'public permissionless' blockchain. Guaranteeing security and protocol conformity through its elegant combination of cryptographic assurances and game theoretic economic…
Our study provides a survey on how existing stablecoins-- cryptocurrencies aiming at price stabilization-- peg their value to other assets, from the perspective of Decentralized Payment Systems (DPSs). This attempt is important because…
We increasingly live in a world where there is a balance between the rights to privacy and the requirements for consent, and the rights of society to protect itself. Within this world, there is an ever-increasing requirement to protect the…